Brixton-based artist Sarah Jane Moon has been selected for the BP Portrait Award Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery for the second year running with her portrait of New York-based photographer Lola Flash. The large scale painting is one of just 48 selected from 1,981 entries from 69 countries chosen anonymously by a panel chaired by Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery.
Opening virtually on 5 May at npg.org.uk/BP, the exhibition is one of the most important international platforms for portrait painters.
Sarah Jane Moon is an award winning professional painter whose portraiture frequently explores identity, sexuality and gender presentation.
Lola Flash, whose work challenges stereotypes and offers new ways of seeing, has been working at the forefront of visual politics for over three decades.
Sarah Jane Moon said “I wanted to celebrate her as a working queer artist, her commitment to her own practice interrogating gender, race and sexual norms and her own particular personal aesthetic. My painting practice seeks deliberately to amplify diverse narratives and celebrate those who are living vibrant and fulfilling lives and proudly making a difference in their industries.’
Sarah has been gaining increasing attention in recent years and this success follows swiftly on from inclusion in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition for the 6th time, where she is currently exhibiting ‘Nicole & Kai’, a portrait of a lesbian couple.
The virtual gallery space replicates the rooms of the National Portrait Gallery, enabling online visitors to view the portraits collectively, read the labels and get insights from the artists, as well as explore each individual work in more detail.
BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2020 From 5 May 2020 at npg.org.uk/BP
